Abbreviation NEC Budget 1.275 million USD (2015) Founders Robert Swann, Susan Witt | Merged into New Economy Network Location Boston, MA Staff 11 (3 part time) | |
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Board of directors David M. Abromowitz, Gar Alperovitz, Jessica Brackman, Farhad Ebrahimi, John Fullerton, Neva Goodwin, Hildegarde Hannum, Leah Hunt Hendrix, Will Raap Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States Similar Post Carbon Institute, Institute for Local Self‑Reliance, Institute for New Economic, Institute for Policy Studies, Ceres | ||
The New Economy Coalition (NEC) is an American nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, formerly known as the New Economics Institute. It is a network of over 100 organizations working for what it describes as the New Economy movement.
Contents
New Economics Institute
The roots of the NEC lay with the Schumacher Center for a New Economics (formerly the E.F. Schumacher Society) which was founded in 1980. In 2010, the NEC partnered with the New Economics Foundation (NEF) to create a new organisation called the New Economics Institute to promote alternative economic models.
New Economics Network
The New Economics Network was created by Sarah Stranahan in 2009 as a loose network of about two hundred organizations working for the new economy. In a lecture for the National Council for Science and the Environment Gus Speth said the organisation wanted to create a sustainable and caring economy.
Rename and merger
In March 2012, Bob Massie became the president of the New Economics Institute. In 2013, the New Economics Institute merged with the New Economy Network and became the New Economy Coalition. Also in that year, Dave Pruett writing for the Huffington Post described the organization as one of two "leading the way toward economic viability". Massie stepped down from being the coalition's president in October 2014.
Partners
The NEC is a sister organization of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in London. Selected NEF publications are featured on the NEC's webpage.
E F Schumacher
The New Economy Coalition continue the work of German economist E. F. Schumacher. That is the linking of people, land, and community to build strong, diverse local economies.
New Economy movement
The New Economy movement is often referred to as just 'new economy'. It considers that the current economic system needs to be restructured. The theory is based on the assumption that people and the planet should come first, and that it is human well-being, not economic growth, which should be prioritized. It draws on an aggregate of alternative economic thought that challenges the fundamental assumptions of mainstream neoclassical and Keynesian economics. Some of the approaches it includes ecological economics, solidarity economy, commons, degrowth, systems thinking and Buddhist economics.
Gar Alperovitz described the New Economy movement as “... a far-ranging coming together of organizations, projects, activists, theorists and ordinary citizens committed to rebuilding the American political-economic system from the ground up." In 2009, Sarah van Gelder wrote, “The new economy is about increasing quality of life, improving health, and restoring the environment."
The movement is entirely distinct from the definition of a service-based new economy as popularized during the late 1990s by Stephen B. Shepard, among others.
Focus
The NEC focuses on issues in North America and organizes there. Writing for The Guardian Jo Confino noted the NEC's approach of getting organizations to work together that share common aims if not strategies.
New economy movement advocacy
The New Economy Coalition works to promote anyone it considers part of the New Economy movement.
Student Organizing
In 2012, the New Economy Coalition launched a student organizing initiative entitled The Campus Network: Campus Leadership in the New Economy. The initiative provided campuses across the country with financial and educational assistance in promoting the ideas of the New Economy through conferences, workshops, and other forms of strategic summits.
Strategies for a New Economy Conference
The New Economy Coalition hosted a conference entitled "Strategies for a New Economy" as a convening summit for diverse economic reformation efforts. The conference was held from June 8–10, 2012 at Bard College in New York. The conference featured workshops, strategizing sessions and lectures. More than 500 people were in attendance, representing over 300 organizations.
CommonBound
In June 2014 the CommonBound conference brought together movement leaders, activists and practitioners. Nathan Schneider writing for Al Jazeera saw the conference as part of a wider commons movement.
The Global Transition to a New Economy map
This project aims to make a global map of all the projects self identifying as 'new economic'. The user-generated online map will plot a sampling of different projects happening around the world. The project is in collaboration with the Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Economy, New Economics Foundation, and the Green Economy Coalition. The map was presented at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. Also in June, the map was awarded the 'map of the week' by the Google Geo Developers blog.
As of February 2015 the site stated it would 'relaunch soon'.